Gaylesville is located in Cherokee County in the northeast corner of the state near the Georgia border.
History

Nearby deposits of iron ore were mined and used to produce iron at the Cornwall blast furnace, located between Gaylesville and Cedar Bluff; the iron later was used by the Confederacy during the Civil War. In 1863, U.S. Army colonel Abel D. Streight staged a raid through the area in the hope of destroying the furnace, but he and his forces were pursued and captured by Confederate general Nathan B. Forrest just outside Gaylesville. The furnace was disabled by several federal actions in 1864. Also that year, U.S. Army general William T. Sherman camped at Gaylesville during the Nashville-Franklin Campaign. The furnace was restored after the war and operated until 1875. It is now a historic park. Samuel Russell established the Gaylesville Academy in 1871, and it was chartered in 1875. Located in a house, it was one of the first schools in northern Alabama. The town was incorporated in 1886.
Demographics
According to 2020 Census estimates, Gaylesville recorded a population of 178. Of that number, 100.0 percent of the respondents identified themselves as white. The median household income was $48,125, and the per capita income was $26,6721.
Employment
According to 2020 Census estimates, the Gaylesville workforce was divided among the following major industrial categories:
- Educational services, and health care and social assistance (40.0 percent)
- Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (24.6 percent)
- Other services, except public administration (7.7 percent)
- Public administration (7.7 percent)
- Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (4.6 percent)
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extraction (3.1 percent)
- Manufacturing (3.1 percent)
- Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (1.5 percent)
- Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (1.5 percent)
- Retail trade (1.5 percent)
Education
Public education is administered by the Cherokee County Board of Education, which oversees one K-12 grade school. Gadsden State Community College operates its Cherokee Campus in nearby Centre.
Transportation
Gaylesville is accessed by State Highway 68, which runs east-west, and State Highway 35, which runs north-south. The closest airport is the Centre Municipal Airport, approximately 10 miles to the southwest.
Events and Places of Interest

Additional Resources
The Heritage of Cherokee County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 1998.
Miller, Dixie C. Visiting Our Past: A History of Cherokee County. N.p., 1986.
Stewart, Mrs. Frank Ross. Cherokee County History: 1836-1956. Birmingham, Ala.: The Birmingham Printing Company, 1958.